Good team display and a win, but points to work on still

Killavullen beat the combination of Glanworth and Shanballymore that is St. Dominics last night in the latest round of the U16 Hurling league on a final score of 2-12 to 1-10.

Killavullen, as always were very tight for players, with a number of players injured at the moment, so 12 players took to the field. We started brightly enough, but failed to score until Darragh O Grady scored a nice point in the 7th minute. Mikey O Connor got his radar from frees back on track in the 8th minutes with two frees after some earlier uncharacteristic wides from the same player. Our opponents scored in the 7th minute but Noah Butler scored a lovely point from way out on the wing in the 11th minute.

Fionn Magner scored a monster free in the 17th minute, but it was a hard night to judge the wind, which was deceptive in the 1st period, when it should have been to our advantage and that may account for the 10 wides we had in that period. Ben Hunter found good space out on his wing, and fired over a lovely point in the 27th minute before St. Dominics got one back and the final score of the 1st half came from another Mikey O Connor free, in the 30th minute. The half time score was 0-07 to 0-02.

On the turnover, St. Dominics came right back into the game with points 2nd and 6th minute before Mikey O Connor scored another free for us in the 5th minute. St. Dominics scored again in the 8th and 9th minute, and suddenly there was only three points between the team, 0-09 to 0-06. Fionn Magner drove forward tirelessly at this stage, and he got his ultimate reward when Mikey O Connor centred to Fionn in space and he dispatched the sliotar coolly to the net to give us some breathing space. Mark Nagle got blocked down, but gathered the ball quickly again, to send over a fine point. At the back some fine defending from Liam Fox, and Colin Carey was keeping wraps on the St. Dominics inside forward line, while time and time again; Brian Cotter plucked the ball out of the air from his centre back berth. Mikey Looney was good at clearing his lines as well, so defensively, we were a tight unit.

St. Dominics scored a goal in the 20th minute when their corner forward followed up after our goaled James had saved a goal bound shot but Mikey O Connor cancelled out that score immediately with a clinical finish at the other end. Darragh O Grady and Mikey O Connor completed our scoring and the final point from the opposition was a delightful score, worth mentioning when their corner forward controlled a long delivery on his stick and fired over a point, that had, Alan Cadogan done it, it would have the analyst in RTE purring.

A fine clean game with good industrious displays all around, and some fine scores. We have a few points to work on, which is always good.